Course Description

LAW 331 - Immigration Law

The course focuses on the answers to four principal questions: who is a citizen of the United States?; who else can come to this country as an immigrant or a visitor?; when and why can non-citizens in the United States be forced to leave?; and how and why does U.S. citizenship matter? In turn, these questions will prompt us to examine the history of immigration to the United States, the constitutional rights of non-citizens, the federal agencies that administer immigration and citizenship laws, undocumented immigration, refugees and asylum, the role of states and localities in immigration, and the balance between national security and openness to non-citizens. Additionally, the course is an opportunity to learn and apply general principles of constitutional law and administrative law in a substantively focused setting, to develop statutory interpretation skills in a complex, technical context, and to analyze the interaction between statutes and the U.S. Constitution. Law 332 (Immigrants’ Rights) is not a prerequisite.

Course Specific Learning Outcomes

As noted in the course description, this course is an opportunity to learn and apply general principles of constitutional law and administrative law in a substantively focused setting, to develop statutory interpretation skills in a complex, technical context, and to analyze the interaction between statutes and the U.S. Constitution.